/ 24 April 1999

HUMAN SACRIFICES ENDED

POLICE in eastern Nigeria seeking to end serious communal clashes have demolished a religious shrine at which a number of people were reportedly sacrificed, a spokesman said on Friday.The shrine was seized and demolished on Wednesday, along with a stock of weapons, including machine-guns and ammunition, at a house at Umuleri, in Anambra State, police command spokesman Sani Mohammed said from the former regional capital Enugu.Umuleri and Aguleri, two neighbouring communities in Anambra, have had a running feud since a 1995 clash over the siting of a petrol station. The dispute has continued in a series of raids by youths from both sides.Two weeks ago Umuleri youths allegedly kidnapped several people including a police officer and ritually sacrificed them at the shrine. Death tolls are unknown, but thousands have fled the area.